This invention relates to a plate-like member selecting and accommodating apparatus for selecting defective plate-like members from a plurality of plate-like members transferred along a path to accommodate the selected defective members in a container, and more particularly to a plate-like member selecting and accommodating apparatus which is usefully from a plurality of transferred boards in the container.
A printed wiring board for an electronic device is so formed that a certain wiring pattern made of, for example, copper is printed on one surface (or both surfaces) of an insulating board. This kind of printed wiring boards can be manufactured in the following processes. First, a conductive layer is formed on an insulating board and a lamination film comprising a photosensitive layer (photoresist layer) and a transparent resin cover film (this is called a cover film hereinafter), is laminated by pressing the lamination film against the insulating board while heating it. Thereafter, a wiring pattern film is placed on the board and, thereafter, the photosensitive resin layer is exposed through the wiring pattern film and the cover film. Further, after the cover film is separated from the board, the exposed photosensitive resin layer is developed to form an etching mask pattern. Thereafter, unnecessary portions of the conductive layer are eliminated by an etching process and a residual photosensitive resin layer is eliminated to form a printed wiring board with a certain wiring pattern.
In the processes of manufacturing printed wiring boards, a cover film separation process is needed when the photosensitive layer is developed after its exposure. This cover film separation process is carried out by a workman. However, the cover film is very thin. Therefore, this process requires dexterity so as to avoid damage and breakage of the thin film due to partial existence of stress during separation of the cover film. Accordingly, there has appeared an automatic cover film (thin film) separation apparatus for carrying out the cover film separation process by a machine. In this automatic cover film separation apparatus, a part of the cover film in the lamination layer attached to the board is initially lifted from the board by a needle, a brush and a kurling tool or the like and fluid is blown onto the lifted part to automatically separate the cover film from the board. The separated cover film is transferred by a cover film transferring device connected to or accommodated in the automatic cover film separation apparatus and conveyed into a cover film accommodating container. This cover film transferring device comprises a transferring belt.
The board from which the cover film is separated is transferred to a developing device. If defective boards from which the cover films are not completely separated are produced, there is a problem that expensive boards are wasted due to occurrence of defective printed wiring boards in development. Therefore, the defective boards are sensed automatically by a sensor or the like to select them and dropped automatically downward from a transferring path. The boards which are defective because the cover film was not separated therefrom can be used because the boards themselves are not bad.
However, in the method of discharging the defective boards, there have occurred impulse sounds and damage and breakage of photosensitive resin. Further, when the defective boards are dropped onto a container with an elastic member, such as a sponge or the like, provided on the hard bottom of the container and especially when the corners of the defective board impacts the elastic member, the corner of each board is broken in pieces due to a force of the elastic member to thereby cause damage and breakage of the photosensitive resin layer on the board.